


Happy Ending

by Daiya_Darko



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Break Up, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2013-03-28
Packaged: 2017-12-06 19:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/739349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daiya_Darko/pseuds/Daiya_Darko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Chris were a magical girl, Ben was his soul gem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Ending

Ben knew all of Chris’ weird habits and never once gave him crap for them. No, Ben may have given a confused twist of the head and a surprised glance, but he took it all in stride. Ben took everything in stride; the death threats, the berating, the untimely calls at all hours and bribes. Ben happily took all the negative energy, leaving only positivity and happiness for Chris.

If Chris were a magical girl, then Ben was his soul gem. He needed Ben at his side; they were a duo, a team of skilled administrative workers who came and went, fighting red ink on documents and leaving safe, black numbers in their wake. As much as Chris loved Ben, he could tell everything was beginning to wear him down, especially once they arrived to Pawnee.

At first glance, Leslie wasn’t much different from the others; she was angry, and Ben was the evil fun-hating monetary overlord. It wore on Ben in a way Chris had never seen, and it hurt to see the man he cared so much about in such silent pain. But Ben was strong; he always was. Ben never let things get to him, not for long, which was why Chris let him go.

There was something underneath Leslie’s abrasive front that both Ben and Chris could see, something in the way she looked at her co-workers and work so lovingly, that showed she was actually very different from the others. Her enthusiasm and positivity were catching; Ben caught it right away.

But he was being held back by words unsaid, unfinished business between him and Chris. The various nights spent in hotels, the quiet reassurances that yes, what they were doing was right and for the best. Their history, the familiarity they shared…

Chris saw the way Ben looked at Leslie and while it hurt, he pulled him to the side and said, “You know what? Give things a chance here; when you’ve hit bottom, you can only go up!”

And even though those words would have sounded generic from anyone else, Ben knew they were too generic for Chris, which meant this unnamed thing between them was over. And it wasn’t bad; it was inevitable, if anything. It just seemed to come a lot sooner than expected. They had fallen into a comfortable rhythm with each other, working side by side for a common goal. They didn’t share many interests, but they both cared a lot about their jobs, which was the most important thing in their eyes at the time. Ben was his safety net, his port in every storm they sailed into. Ben was always watching out for him at parties and functions, stopping him before he ate something with fat in it or packing him fresh lunches if they weren’t sure about the commissary of a new location. If Chris thought he was beginning to get sick, Ben would drive until he found a health food store that sold ginger crystals and fix Chris some tea. Ben was wordlessly his everything, and Chris couldn’t have been happier to have him.

But now things were different, and it was time for Chris to show how much he cared about Ben.

It was bittersweet to watch Ben go after Leslie, but Chris knew it would work out – he just didn’t know how he would end up himself.


End file.
